Crawford v. City of Sheridan
| Decision Date | 28 May 1964 |
| Docket Number | No. 3240,3240 |
| Parties | Carl CRAWFORD, Appellant (Plaintiff below), David A. Ruff, Percy Zimmer, at al. (Plaintiffs below), as electors and taxpayers of the City of Sheridan, State of Wyoming, in behalf of themselves and all other electors and taxpayers of said City, v. The CITY OF SHERIDAN, Walt Harker, Mayor, R. Q. Smith, City Manager, De Jure or De Facto, Appellees (Defendants below). |
| Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Jack Wolfe, Sheridan, for appellant.
Harry F. Schwartz, Sheridan, for appellees.
Before PARKER, C. J., and HARNSBERGER, GRAY, and McINTYRE, JJ.
Plaintiffs, electors and taxpayers of Sheridan, alleging that the City had appointed Sam Wilson, a resident of Billings, Montana, as Chief of Police of Sheridan in violation of Art. 6, § 15, Wyo.Const., sought an injunction to restrain the City from paying Wilson's salary. Defendants moved to dismiss the action on the ground that under the applicable statutes the position of chief of the police department in 'councilmanager' forms of municipal government, such as Sheridan, is not a civil or military office within the constitutional provisions; that the action of injunction was not the proper remedy; and that there was no irreparable injury from the payment of the salary in question. The court granted the motion, and the case before us is an appeal from such order.
Appellant says that the sole issue before us is whether or not the office of the chief of police in the City of Sheridan is a mere employment or a 'civil * * * office' under the mentioned section of the constitution providing, 'No person except a qualified elector shall be elected or appointed to any civil or military office in the state.' He cites various authorities tending to show that ordinarily a policeman, and especially a chief of police, is a public official and not a servant or agent. The defendants in response contend that the constitution places upon the legislature the responsibility of providing the forms of municipal government, the qualifications for their officers and employees, the manner of their election, appointment, or employment, and matters incident to tenure, compensation, duties, and responsibilities, and that under the provisions of Title 15, Chapter 4, Article 3, W.S.1957, there is a clear intent that all municipal officers except councilmen, city attorneys, and police justices, are employees of the City rather than officers. They agree that the question of whether or not...
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